Politics: A Lesson From Luke

First, I have to admit that this blog is becoming more and more entertainment-centered... which I hope is OK. For the last few weeks, I've tended to be either too depressed by the news to report it, or haven't bothered to for one reason or another. Perhaps my patterns will change, but for now, it appears the bulk of posts will be movies, music or sports. However, this is something I really wanted to post about...

Last week in church (First Presbyterian in Ann Arbor), the minister's sermon was about Luke 15:11-32. Now, I'd heard this verse before, of course, but in our current political environment, it really struck me. Basically, in case you don't want to read the linked verses (it's really short, though, so you should), a man has two sons, the younger of whom wishes to be given his inheritance immediately. He goes off on his own and squanders this, and along with outside events he is forced into servitude. He returns to his father in shame and intends to work as a hired hand. However, the father instead rejoices at his son's return, and throws a big party for him. The older brother gets word of this and is pissed off, complaining that he had worked diligently and faithfully all his life and yet had not been so celebrated. His father replies that the celebration is in order because the young son had "died" but was born again now.

Essentially, the minister's message in his sermon was that we have a little bit of both sons in all of us. There is the young son, who desires material and physical pleasure, is selfish and wasteful, and eventually is completely at the mercy of others. Then there is the old son, who works hard consistently and dutifully, but also scorns any who do not live up their standards and resents those who get a "free ride"; self-righteous, in other words.

Can't we say the same for Democrats and Republicans, conservatives and liberals? Right now, I think both sides are feeling quite strongly that they are the older son. Conservatives say, look at all this spending on health care, pork-projects, and government spending in general; now we are running a huge deficit when (excuse the expression) good ol' folks like us are fiscally responsible. Liberals say, look at what conservative policies have gotten us: lack of corporate regulation has led to spiraling health care costs, a decaying environment and a world financial crisis; we have been railing against this for years to deaf ears.

And now we have the problems of BOTH younger sons: a huge national debt and deficit, as well as huge and growing threats to the environment, health care, and the economy, among others. So old son conservative blames young son Democrat, and old son liberal blames young son conservative. Where does this get us? Republicans are filibustering every damn little (let alone big) thing the Democrats propose (even things they would normally support), and liberals liken Fox News and others to Soviets brainwashing of what they perceive as backwards, cruel rural Americans. I repeat, where does this get us?

Where it gets us is farther and farther apart from each other, even as our problems expand simultaneously with that separation. Democrats try to squeeze in as much of their agenda as possible, fearing a Republican return but hoping to solve the nation's problems, which now has Republicans horrified that things are changing so quickly and thus getting more and more extreme in their own rhetoric.

But we are ALL Americans here in the United States, as big of a cliche as that is. Politicians say "the American people want a fiscally responsible government" and "the people want adequate health care for all". But there are hard choices to be made. You want fiscally responsible government? Are you prepared to throw the poor and elderly to the wolves? Are you prepared to let the infrastructure of the nation continue to decay to the point of crisis (and so on)? Or, do you want first-rate health care for all? Are you prepared for future, unknown consequences of the national debt, that your children and grandchildren may inherit?

There is always a give-and-take in politics, always a downside for each positive government action (or inaction). But now, with what I think Americans are correctly perceiving as a critical time for our nation on so many issues, we are perhaps further than ever away from seeing the other side's point of view. And these many younger and older sons, selfish and self-righteous alike, have no wise father figure in real life that can set it straight, calm the tension.

So my message to America's politicians: put aside your self-righteousness and work with your younger brother, because he's an American, too. And America needs you to do it NOW.